Trolley wire tap



A ril 28, 1953 J. F. CONRAD 2,636,957

TROLLEY WIRE TAP Filed Feb. 19, 1951 m IK filumv/uu .19 35 a? INVENTOR.

JOHN F." CONE/70.

BY WM Patented Apr. 28, 1953 TROLLEY WIRE TAP John Francis Conrad, Ebensburg, Pa., assignor to Deltron Electric Products, Inc., .Ebensburg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 19, 1951, Serial No. 211,785 2 Claims. (01. 200-1155.)

This invention relates to fused electrical connec'tor-s that are particularly suitable for use as taps for trolley wires or the like, and embodies certain improvements over that described and claimed in my application Serial No. 193,176, filed October 31, 1950.

One feature of improvmeent involves a simpler and cheaper manner of assembling the upper fuse socket block in the holder or handle for the fuse cartridge and the electrical conductors and the insulating guard disc associated therewith.

Another improvement involves the provision of means for permitting escape of gases from the cartridge and the holder, with less danger of damage to the holder and injury to the operator than in the case of various types of fused holders heretofore employed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a connector of the trolley tap type; Fig. 2 is a View illustrating the method by which the insulating guard disc is applied to the upper socket and the upper end of the holder; Fig. 3 illustrates a preliminary step in the clamping or riveting of the disc permanently in position on the socket plug; Fig. 4 shows the completed assembly of this part of the device; Fig. 5 is an enlarged inner end view of the upper socket member of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a partial View thereof, in vertical section, and Fig. '1 shows a modification of the structure of Fig. 4.

The casing or holder 3 is of insulating material such as fibrous reinforced resin and has an insulating closure disc 9 pressed into one end thereof through which a sheathed cable I extends. A knurled block I l of aluminum or other metal has tight fit in the casing 8, and the bared wires of the cable are clamped in a socket member l2, by set screws l3.

A fuse cartridge I l filled with an inert powder contains a fusible link or strip I5. The fuse link l at one end is clamped by a screw It. lhe

block I2 is slightly recessed at its inner end to serve as a socket for the cartridge shell 14.

At the other end of the casing, the cartridge shell fits into a recessed block I7 and the fuse link is held by a screw l8. The block H has an enlarged threaded portion at N] that screws into a brass bushing 20 which is knurled and has tight flt with the casing 8.

The block ll is tapped at its outer end to receive a hook 2| that is engageable with a trolley wire from which current is to be drawn, and has a lip or flange 22 that is bent downwardly at its peripheral edge to serve as a rivet for holding an insulating disc 23 which may suitably be of soft rubber or the like, and has some elas- 'ticity.

In assembling these par-ts, :a tapered mandrel 25 is placed against the outer end of the socket,

with its stem 253 extending into the hole that will be tapped to receive the hook 2|. Thereupon, the disc 23 will be forced downwardly along the mandrel 2d and thereby gradually stretched until it snaps into place beneath the lip 22, as shown by dash lines in the lower portion of Fig. 2. Thereupon, a riveting tool 27 will be applied to the upper face of the flange 22 to bend the flange into rivet-like clamping engagement with the disc 23, as shown in Fig. 4. Since the disc has already been stretched somewhat to enable its central hole to fit around the upper end of the plug ll and is gripped by the downwardly bent edge of the flange 22, it will be firmly held against being accidentally stretched so greatly as to disengage it from the plug H. The socket or plug ii is transversely slotted as shown at 28 to receive the upper end of the fuse link, and this slot assists in permitting escape of gases that are formed upon rupture of the link through an electrical overload. The socket I2 is similarly slotted, at 29.

The ends of the shell for the cartridge [4 are closed by discs 3| which are of soft material such as rubber, to hold the usual inert powder in the shell. The shell has longitudinally-extending slots 32 in its ends into which bent-in ears 33 extend from the skirts of the sockets, these spurs or projections being formed by a peening tool. These spurs serve as guides for rotatably aligning the fuse with the sockets, but the slots are primarily for the purpose of permitting escape of gases upon explosion or rup ture of the fuse, the discs 3| yielding outwardly at such times. Also, when the central areas of the discs are expanded or stretched, some gases will escape through the slots 28 and 29.

These gases have large room for expansion within the holder 8, but I provide an additional safety vent or vents, as shown at 34 to permit escape of the gases from the holder.

The gases are therefore released with such little resistance that there is a minimum of danger to damage of the holder and injury to the operator.

In Fig. '7, I show still another safety feature. This involves the provision of a rubber insulating disc 36 that is cemented or fused to the disc 23 and thus covers the upper face of the flange 22 and prevent engagement thereof with a trolley wire during handling of the device.

I claim as my invention:

1. An electrical connector comprising a tubular body member open at one end to receivea cable, a fuse socket member in said end, for connection to the cable, a second fuse socket member extending into the other end of the body member and having its exterior surface in threaded connection with the body member, means at the outer end of the second-named socket member for connection with a conductor, a fuse of the cartridge type having its fusible link projecting from the ends thereof, deformable discs closing the ends of the cartridge shell, the shell being longitudinally slotted at its ends, for the escape of gases when the discs are moved outwardly under gas pressure within the shell, and means in the socket members for connecting the projecting ends of the link to the sockets.

2. An electrical connector comprising a tubular body member of insulating material open at one end to receive a cable terminal and having a metallic fuse socket member in said end, for connection to the cable terminal, a second metallie fuse socket member, a bushing rigidly mounted in the other end of the body member and having threaded engagement with the secondnamed socket member, to releasably support the same, a metallic flanged portion on the outer end of the second-named fuse socket member provided with an axially extending threaded bore, and an apertured disc of insulating material interposed between said flange and the adjacent end of said tubular body member.

JOHN FRANCIS CONRAD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,679,142 Wyman July 31, 1928 1,822,883 Chandler Sept. 15, 1931 1,947,503 Shunk Feb. 20, 1934 2,419,152 Mosebach Apr. 15, 1947 2,475,352 Conrad July 5, 1949 2,551,520 Woodcock May 1, 1951 

